The third time does not need to be the charm for Emergystat.

The ambulance company has taken itself out of rotation twice for ambulance calls in Adams County.

And the Adams County Board of Supervisors took the right step Thursday to seek an interlocal agreement to govern which companies should be allowed to take part in the ambulance rotation.

Emergystat informed the county&8217;s 911 Board twice it was reinstating itself into the rotation.

That should never have been Emergystat&8217;s decision; it is the purview of the 911 board to decide which companies are qualified to take on the important mission of responding to emergency calls in our community.

The company has been forced to refuse to take emergency calls because, as it told the 911 board in a letter, all of its employees walked out. Apparently the company once refused eight calls in a row; that&8217;s a dangerous situation when seconds count in an emergency and dispatchers are forced to take extra time to get help to someone.

Reinstating Emergystat, even if the company says it can prove it has the resources to handle emergency calls, is too big a risk for Adams County to take.

Adams County supervisors are smart to look at creating an ordinance to mandate the requirements an ambulance company must have to take calls. We urge the city to take part in their plans so an interlocal agreement can be set.